worries about germany's economic a boom for the first time in years the economy is shrinking but is it just a blip poi's sign of a real slowdown meanwhile germany's foreign buying when it comes to alter official intelligence potentially costing the country trillions of euros. and things are getting critical for industrial companies along the banks of the river rhine low water levels caused by this sometimes lack of rain also very hampering shipping on germany's most important waterway. this is your business update i'm out on the homefront in berlin thanks for joining me the economy here in germany shrank by zero point two percent in the third quarter more than analysts had expected and stifled by global trade disputes and problems in germany's car

industry that it is being seen as a wake up call that stable growth is by no means guaranteed. exports were down and imports up in the third quarter that's trouble for an economy built on strong exports a major part of the problem has been a bottleneck in car deliveries by german automakers the result of new more rigorous emissions rules but there are other issues political ones global trade disputes are threatening the bottom lines of german companies both b.m.w. and di miller cited trade uncertainty in their latest earnings reports the companies feel a growing uncertainty this is related to brag that this is related to the trade conflict with the u.s. and to the italian situation which may lead us into a financial crisis possibly so there is growing uncertainty of the economy is cooling down but we are not falling into recession and i think that would be exaggerated analysts still believe the german economy will grow this year but the news figures show that the country's political stability and low unemployment with

a weak euro currency don't guarantee a strong economy. like few other nations the german economy relies on overseas consumption at a time of growing uncertainty it only makes sense that it's feeling the pinch. the italian government to pay is determined to stick to its fake spending budget rome did not meet a deadline set by the european commission to present a revised budget one that would be in line with euro zone rules brussels rejected right as an initial plan which would deficit spending two point four percent of g.d.p. he said he has the second highest debt to g.d.p. ratio in the eurozone and now the ball is in the e.u. school and it looks like an aussie battle has just begun. after italy's populist government stated on tuesday that it's sticking with its controversial two point four percent budget deficit plans in response to any demands for changes analysts are predicting tough reactions on the side of the e.u. . i think we are approaching sanctions from the european union because i think that

the italian government unfortunately has chosen a conflicting course with the european union so i expect a very tough reaction because europe has accepted this challenge and in a way it is relaunching it franco says the current italian budget crisis would have a negative effect on italian savings and is mostly due to an internal political battle between the two majority parties the league and the five star movement. financial markets in italy fell by over one percent at the wednesday opening a negative reaction to the government's announcement of the night before. the italian cabinet plans to raise cash through the sale of secondary real estate which officials say would reduce italy stubbornly high public debt it's currently around one hundred thirty percent of g.d.p. far above the e.u.

limit of sixty percent and the second highest in europe after greece. meanwhile in the united states the budget is also under the microscope with the country's budget deficit jumping considerably in october we can bring in our financial correspondent sophie szymanski for more on this now sophie tell us how all the numbers are looking. big kevin that these are big numbers the biggest since two thousand and twelve actually as the u.s. budget charge is looming food fueled by trams tax cuts and spending hikes spending grew rapidly twice actually as fast as revenue president say can look at the new number here for the month of october way talking about a one hundred billion dollars budget deficit and this marks an increase of about sixty percent from a year earlier the deficit to widen from around sixty billion dollars in the same month last year the part of the department said in this statement our job or marks

the start of the u.s. fiscal years so we also get to look back to last year and interims first full fiscal year that ended in september the budget gap grew to seven hundred seventy nine billion dollars right i mean thirty sixty percent each steep is this sparking concern. yes because on a basic level the u.s. government is spending way more money than a brings in this is not a new problem but what is new about it is that this number is exploding in times of economic well being and growth many are saying it would be a good time to actually start scraping off some debt and on top of that this debt is getting more expensive as interest rates have been rising charmes tax cuts especially the ones we're called rationing are expected to cut government revenue by one point three trillion dollars over the next decade that is what the congressional budget office calculated financial correspondent so if you should

monthly on wall street a good speech he thinks sophie. the british cabinet has approved a draft of briggs that deal between the u.k. and the european union after five and a half hours of talks on wednesday the text now has to be approved by the country's parliament which is expected to be a tricky little earlier in the day to international monetary fund managing director warned that a british exit from the block without a tradition transitional trade deal would cost the country d.d. stating that a hard drugs it would cause the british economy to shrink the pound to drop on the budget deficit to rise british prime minister teresa mayes is set to explain the details of draw for deal to parliament on thursday. now one thing that the german economy can boast is a strong research sector but despite all the hard work going on in labs across the country germany is lagging behind when it comes to the development of auto official intelligence now is investing

a six billion euros through to twenty twenty five to get up to speed with ai and close in on rivals china and the us plagued by congestion or lack of parking spaces drivers in cities might wish for an invisible hand to regulate traffic such as computers that make smart decisions to keep it flowing. it's just one application of artificial intelligence experts at the german research institute for artificial intelligence a germany is doing well in ai research but lagging when it comes to turning know how into products we're going to put it takes a while clinical parties agree that we have to digitalize and that ai is a motor of progress the population remain skeptical that has to do with fears of job losses fears about data protection maybe also with a generally skeptical attitude towards technology to get these are problems in germany i think that's why no one is really prepared to funded properly now the german government wants the country to be an ai leader to safeguard prosperity.

this is about thousands millions of jobs that we can secure and create. that is our goal yes and we will work resolutely to ensure that the findings from the research done in germany can then be taken on and used by businesses. a key part of the plan recruit top scientists from abroad to do research in germany the ministry of education research is to fund a hundred new professorships but worldwide competition for the best and brightest stiff incomes going through off the they're not only interested in good pay they also want good conditions for their families to be able to get their kids into the right schools and. the cabinet has earmarked three billion euros to help finance its digitalisation plan. the river rhine here in germany is one of the busiest shipping rates in the walden companies along its banks know when you receive all materials by ship and there's been little rain for months and water levels

a fall into such an extent that normal shipping is no longer possible that some gas stations feel is also growing scare us. commercial traffic on the rhine is drifting towards a crisis in cologne water levels have dropped to one meter usually the river is three meters deep here it's one of europe's most important shipping arteries and some of the largest in one ports in the world could be found on its banks logistical hubs are trying to cope but problems are mounting. in peter to sinking water levels on the rhine have made it difficult to load barges and the individual ships that are loaded have to take less because the river has grown so shallow so we're losing more and more shipping capacity and the situation has grown much worse in the last few months more not. offered them at this fresh less that companies like to some cook and b.s.f. are feeling the pinch supplies of raw materials are becoming scarce they've already

had to curb production rearranging delivery by road or rail is a complex challenge and will never be as efficient as water borne delivery. an average barge for example can carry two thousand tonnes of oil an amount that would otherwise need forty tank cars or eighty trucks in the third quarter of twenty eighteen most water conditions cost b.s.f. fifty million euros in additional expenses and production losses the big question now is whether the low water levels are the exception or perhaps the new rule. well climate change mean traffic could soon cease completely on the run some companies are already looking at new barge designs with even flatter bottoms and they're discussing whether a pipeline could be installed on the riverbed. that's it from me and the entire business team has in a ballet and i'm having a humphrey thanks as ever for your company remember you can also find out more on

our facebook page on twitter all handle. any business on there as well head in the c humphrey is my handle i'll be back tomorrow same time same place all that forward to seeing you then right now here's a look at the local markets by. letter

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